Dear Young Job Seekers: Don't Be Sorry

Rarely a week goes by that I don't receive an email or LinkedIn message from a young candidate for an entry-level job that begins with some variation on, "I'm so sorry to bother you, I know you're busy."

Dude! Stop it!

When you start your email that way, you create the first impression of a green, desperate person, lacking any self confidence or value.

Granted, all of that may be true. But I don't want to hire that person or help that person get a job. I want to hire or help somebody who sounds like this:

"I'm writing to ask you for some help. I'm a recent graduate of Miami University, where I studied English. While a student, I was the editor of the campus newspaper, and I also started a very successful dog-walking business in town, which helped to pay my expenses. (I love all animals, but dogs are my all-time favorite.) I'm the kind of person who likes to work hard; is good at figuring stuff out on my own; and also enjoys meeting new people and learning new things. I would appreciate any help you can provide me in getting an initial interview at Spark Foundry, informational or actual. The more I learn about your agency and about the media landscape today, the more convinced I am that it's where I want to start my career. I promise you will be glad you helped me! I am so ready to land at a great company like yours, and to make a difference there on day one."

Boom!

Now, you don't have to have gone to the same university I did or have studied what I studied (although if you did, you are golden). And you don't have to have started a business or be a dog fanatic. But what you do need to do is to let me know what's awesome and unique about you, and to make me believe that I'll be proud to have helped you along the path. Make me want to work with you! Make me want to brag someday, "You know, I was the one who found that go-getter."

Look, I get it. Going from college to the workplace is one of life's hardest transitions. But it's a first-world problem. You can do it. And if you lack confidence, well, now's the time to start faking it. After a while, you'll forget it's an act. I know I have.

Now get out there and start "bothering" people like me!